Wichita eagle., 1887-06-01
ACTION AND MOTIVE

Every action of man or communities i:
prompted by some motive. if a charge is
made that a person has committed an Of
Tense against society or the laws of his
country it is considered that to convic,
him of the offense 1t is essential to show a
motive for the commission of the act
When men commit bad act of course the
motive is bad, and vice versa. When they
commit a good act it is inspired by good
motive. Hence to properly weigh the act
of an Individual in order to do him justice
every fair minded man will look beyond
the act itself to the motive that is supposed
to have inspired the act. Selfshness is
said to be the foundation of all sin. And
while this is true. it is not crime for a
person to look to the interest of his own
household as against his neighbor or to
the interest of his own city
as against q neighboriDg city,
because the action of the individual in these
cases may be inspired by the love in his
cart for his own household, for his own
city, and not with intent to harm any one
else. If person commits an offense
against his neighbor with the sole intent to
do the injury, for the satisfaction of doing
harm, the heart Of that man is sinful,
mean, and to be despised by all who love
good in preference to evil. In the light of
these truths we have tried to divine the
motives of the newspapers and people who
are writing and talking about Wichita. A
great many of these stories would harm
this city if they were believed. The public
have not believed them and Wichita goes
on her prosperous way unharmed. So the
only thing in connection with the whole
m after, the investigation of which
would interest anybody, is the
motive that inspires these thoughts.
What motive can people, for instance in
In diana and Ohio, have for writing and
publishing falsehoods about Wichita which
if believed would injure the people in this
city, and could in no possible way benefit
the authors and publishers of these SANDER
Gus falsehoods. How can any man in In
diana or Ohio with the least particle of
patriotism imagine that the prosperity of
Kansas or Wichita can harm him or his
state? What motive can prompt news
paper at Quincy, ILL.,, to publish rumor
that great financial crash had Overtaken
this city and gloat over the matter by say
ing this rumor would injure us even though
there be no foundation for the report? Can
any sane mind conceive how calamity to
faithful, Industrious, charitable Wichita
could benefit Quincy, Illinois, What is
the motive that induces papers |
to scentinue publishing to the world
that Wichita is lawless city when hun
dreds of people every day, from all over
the country, come to and depart from this
city, and everyone of them bear testimony |
that no city of its size is more law abiding |
In our heart we are more inclined to think |
good than to think evil of our fellOwmen. |
Hence We shrink from the contemplation
of this subject. If we could analyze these
actions and find in them a noble motive it |
would be source of pleasure to us to per
sue the investigation But when only bad
motives stale at us, and force themselves
upon our mind, it produces in our heart
only profound sorrow for the offenders;
and we leave our readers to form their own
conclusions, as to what are the motives
that prompt these things of which We have
cpnEan |.